CHRISTINA MACKENZIE / PARIS
Experience drives propulsion selection as it provides independence from support ships
Nuclear propulsion is the best choice for France's second aircraft carrier, believes Rear Adm François Cluzel, the first commander to use the nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle in a military operation, citing the "remarkable independence and strategic mobility" offered by the power source.
However, if the French government this year decides to remain with nuclear propulsion for its second carrier, industrial co-operation with the UK, which opted against nuclear power for its two CVF future carriers, would be limited to systems. This is because ship design and configuration differs radically depending on fuel choice, he says.
Co-operation between the UK and France on future carriers has been mooted several times in recent years, mainly by France. The UK Ministry of Defence has ruled out a common ship design although it has acknowledged that the two nations' ships could use common systems.
Cluzel says: "Any type of fossil power entails refuelling every two or three days so if we opt for this then we would also need at least one other tanker ship, making the overall operational cost higher even if the basic cost of the carrier might be lower." He adds: "On the Charles de Gaulle we carry seven years' worth of combustion so are not hindered in our tactical mobility by the need to refuel."
France would not need to rethink the design if it opts for a sister ship to the Charles de Gaulle, Cluzel says, "because it was designed for the Dassault Rafales and Northrop Grumman Hawkeyes and we'll have them for the next 40 years."
The only significant change he sees on the flightdeck in the next 20 years is replacement of steam-driven catapults. "Work has begun to develop electric catapults, but it is very early days and because military equipment has to be 100% tried and tested we're not likely to see them aboard for 15 or 20 years," Cluzel says.
He says operations in Afghanistan accelerated the operational use of new equipment, such as night-vision systems, but also highlighted the need to improve intelligence gathering and data handling. "But the principal effort needs to be made in combat munitions and our priority must be to develop metric precision and all-weather capacity for the Sagem AASM air-to-ground munition system."
Plans are to have such a version of this air-to-ground munition in service with the French armed forces by 2010.
Source: Flight International
